Most people that want to come to Beijing to study will often think of dorms and hotels for their accommodation. These are, after all, the most common and most expected accommodation setups almost everywhere else. But one type of accommodation arrangement that you might want to consider if you are to head to this part the world is a homestay.
A more affordable alternative accommodation, it serves as an ideal way for students to truly learn while immersing in the local culture. When you opt for a homestay, you stay in a home or an apartment with a local family. If getting the chance to enjoy local food prepared and served by locals is not enough to draw you, below are even more benefits that should definitely convince you.
It makes the move less daunting
Moving to a new city with hardly a soul you know is always a very overwhelming experience. When you are new to the place, it always takes time to get used to it and to find your way around. The beauty of a hemostat is that the moment you get there, you instantly meet locals in their actual homes. Not only do you get to have a save environment to live in, you will have people that can help you find your way around. This adds so much towards making you feel secure, comfortable, and at ease with your new environment.
Best way to improve your local language skills
If you are going to study in another country, it makes sense that you will learn the local. There is no better way to master it than to stay in a house where it is spoken. Your host family can even possibly help you learn Chinese characters.
While a lot of people like to idea of being independent when staying in dorms, they might have fewer chances of truly learning the language when they do. They are likely going to be rooming with students who are expats like themselves. As a result, they are not really going to have the need to use the local language when they converse with other students. In a homestay, interacting with a local can help you learn Chinese in 5 minutes.
More affordable accommodation
Staying in hotels Beijing China can cost quite a ton of money especial if you are going to study there for a considerable length of time. If you want to spend less, a hemostat setup is going to be a more affordable and practical option. The costs are generally going to be lower. Some places even have rooms that you can share with other students which means even lower prices.
Interact with the locals and live like them
There is no better way to experience Beijing than by truly immersing yourself in it. Living in one of the homes of the locals means that you get to interact with them on a regular basis. You will be a part of their family life- something that you might need especially if you are not used to being away from home. It can get lonely when you are abroad. But it will be less so when you have a host family around.
Share and enjoy meals with them
If you are keen on experiencing the local taste of Beijing, then having it prepared by its locals is always the best way to go. While there are a ton of restaurants peppered around that will let you get a taste of local food, there is no better way of experiencing local cuisine through a home-cooked meal. You get to appreciate the local food more when you see how it is prepared and you get to share it with your host family. Not only that you can even learn about the specific traditions and cultures that they observe when it comes to their food preparation and serving.
Unforgettable memories
When you opt for a homestay as your choice for Beijing accommodation, you get to really create memories that you know you are always going to cherish for the rest of your life. You will share all your days with your host family. The connection you will have with actual, genuine people is certainly not something that you can find in any hotel.
A homestay is not the only way for you to enjoy a culturally immersive experience when studying in Beijing. But it is certainly one of the best ways for you to. The fact that you gain a new family at the end of your stay means that you will not just get to experience Beijing; you get to always have a human connection to it too.